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Ex-"Idol" Finalist Blames Intuition
Mario Vazquez's intuition made him do it.
The 27-year-old American Idol finalist unexpectedly withdrew from the singing competition Sunday, telling E! that "basically it comes down to my intuition. It wasn't time for me to do this now. There were certain aspects of my life that I needed to take care of first.
Nikko Smith, who was the second lowest vote-getter among the male crooners last week, was tapped to replace Vazquez in the esteemed round of 12.
Before Vazquez's inner voice put the kibosh on his Idol dream, the sweet-sounding Bronx incarnation of Justin Guarini was expected to, like Guarini, go deep into the competition.
"This is a decision that I made for myself," Vazquez said to E! "I don't think that I won't have a career in this business because music is my passion. I love to do it. I'll always do it. But there's just things I need to take care of right now, and I'd like to keep that private. It was a very hard decision to make.
"I'd like to apologize if I've disappointed fans, and just know that this is not the last you've heard of Mario Vazquez," he added, hinting that he'd even do Idol again.
Vazquez had just come off three strong performances in Idol's semi-finals, charming judge Paula Abdul (admittedly, no hard task) with performances of "Do I Do," "I Love Music," and "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart," and building an ardent fan base ("WE LOVE YOU MARIO!!!!," went one breathless post on Idol's message boards) on TV's most-watched show.
Exactly what Vazquez's intuition told him was unclear. A statement from Fox cited "personal reasons" as being behind the departure. Vazquez wasn't any more forthcoming with Extra, saying it was "a very private matter amongst myself." To TV Guide, he called it "just a personal family thing."
But Vazquez's own family sounded puzzled. "Look at me, I'm fine. I'm still kicking," the singer's mother, identified only as Ada, told the New York Post. His older brother Rich (again no last name) said Vazquez told him that he was fine, but not much else.
On Sunday night, the Drudge Report ran with a rumor that Vazquez didn't want to sign a management contract with the show's producers, as required of all the competitors. Fox declined comment on Monday.
Vazquez's vanishing act is as mysterious as his official network bio, which referred to his pre-Idol occupation as involving work "with emerging artists within the New York music world."
Vazquez is the second Idol finalist in the show's history to exit the show before viewers gave the go-ahead. Corey Clark was disqualified in 2003 after the Smoking Gun smoked out an outstanding criminal case against him.
The end of Vazquez's run means a new beginning for Smith. He'll be on the stage Tuesday as the march to the May 24-25 finale begins.
Prior to Sunday's reprieve, the 22-year-old son of baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he wasn't disappointed about being voted off the show last Wednesday night.
"I'm happy to get all that exposure," Smith told the newspaper. "Millions and millions of people watch the show, and hopefully somebody saw me and liked what they saw."
Now, thanks to Vazquez, Smith will be seen again. At least for one more week.
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